Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW200006S
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Family Worship. 01:12 We are so excited that 01:13 you have joined us here tonight. 01:15 We are going to be taking on 01:17 an exciting Bible topic entitled 01:20 "Knowing God." 01:21 And we want to be the first to say Happy Sabbath. 01:23 We're here in these Sabbath hours. 01:25 I love this app, amen? Amen. 01:27 It's time to just stop and reflect and rest 01:30 and as the Bible says in the original Hebrew nefesh 01:33 when Jesus rested He nefeshed, just a moment, 01:37 we can just pause and just take in the moment 01:39 and we're so glad to have you. 01:41 Thank you for your love, 01:42 prayers and support of 3ABN Ministry. 01:45 And you know what? 01:46 We have a lots and lots to discuss tonight 01:48 on how to know God, according to the Bible, 01:51 and I'm going to get right into introducing our guests today. 01:55 Actually, this is, I'm kind of new at this usually 01:57 I'm where you guys are sitting 01:59 and so I have first and foremost, 02:01 I want to introduce my lovely wife. 02:03 This is one of the few times 02:05 she's actually been on the set with me. 02:07 This is Stephanie, my wife 02:09 and she's kind of co-hosting with me tonight. 02:11 And so, yeah, just tonight this evening. 02:14 And on my right over here we have Miss Angela Lomacang 02:18 and Pastor John Lomacang, my pastor. 02:20 Good to be here. 02:21 It's a blessing to have the both of you. 02:22 Thanks for inviting us. 02:24 Yeah, it's good to have you guys. 02:25 I know you guys bring a lot to the table 02:27 and pastor with your knowledge of Scripture, 02:28 we certainly appreciate all that you do, Brother. 02:30 Praise the Lord. Knowing God, a great topic. 02:32 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:34 And then over here to our far left 02:35 we have someone that I'm very familiar 02:38 with my Brother Dakota and his wife, Anna. 02:42 It's so good to have you guys here. 02:44 Thank you for having us. 02:45 You travel on behalf of 3ABN Ministry. 02:47 Excuse me. 02:49 No, you don't travel on behalf of 3ABN Ministry. 02:50 The other ministries. You travel... 02:54 I travel on behalf of 3ABN Ministry. 02:56 They travel on behalf of the ministry 02:58 that I am also very familiar with, 03:00 Amazing Facts Ministry. 03:01 That's correct. Yeah, that's correct. 03:02 Absolutely. 03:04 And so what do you do for Amazing Facts? 03:05 So I'm a public speaker 03:06 and evangelist with Amazing Facts. 03:08 And me and my wife Anna, 03:09 we travel full time and do Bible prophecy seminars 03:11 all over the globe. 03:13 So, yeah. 03:14 I couldn't do without her though. 03:15 That's right. 03:17 Same here, Brother, I understand that. 03:18 So if you need to pay, 03:20 if you need an evangelist come to your church, 03:22 Dakota's the man. 03:24 Absolutely. 03:25 We appreciate you guys being here 03:26 and being able to join us. 03:28 And, Stephanie, we're so again glad to have you. 03:29 My wife, Stephanie, she is the principal 03:31 of the Thompsonville Junior Christian Academy, 03:34 and we're just going to just study the Bible tonight. 03:37 Seeing, study the Bible, 03:39 get into the Word of the Lord and learn and grow together. 03:42 And you know, I'm going to get right into our song 03:45 because Tim over there is anxiously waiting. 03:49 Mr. Tim Parton, we're so glad to have him. 03:51 And this guy, when he gets on the piano, 03:52 it just blesses my soul. 03:55 And we're going to be singing a familiar hymn, 03:57 Draw Me Near in Your SDA Hymnal, 03:59 it should be hymn number 306, Draw Me Near. 04:02 Tim, take it away. 04:03 Let, guys, worship all together. 04:09 I am Thine, O Lord 04:11 I have heard Thy voice 04:14 And it told Thy love to me 04:18 But I long to rise In the arms of faith 04:24 And be closer drawn to Thee 04:29 Draw me nearer Nearer blessed Lord 04:34 To the cross where Thou hast died 04:40 Draw me nearer Nearer, nearer blessed Lord 04:46 To Thy precious bleeding side 04:52 Consecrate me now To Thy service, Lord 04:58 By the power of grace divine 05:03 Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope 05:09 And my will be lost in Thine 05:14 Draw me nearer Nearer blessed Lord 05:20 To the cross where Thou hast died 05:25 Draw me nearer 05:29 Nearer blessed Lord 05:33 To Thy precious 05:35 Bleeding side. 05:40 O the pure delight of a single hour 05:45 That before Thy throne I spend 05:51 When I kneel in prayer And with Thee, my God 05:57 I commune As friend with friend! 06:02 Draw me nearer Nearer blessed Lord 06:08 To the cross where Thou hast died 06:14 Draw me nearer 06:18 Nearer blessed Lord 06:22 To Thy precious bleeding side 06:30 Amen. Amen. 06:32 Praise the Lord. I love those words. 06:34 I chose that song because I think 06:35 it goes so well with our topic, Knowing God. 06:40 How do we know God according to the Bible? 06:43 This is something that's vitally important 06:45 and some might consider it 06:46 fundamental or an elementary topic, 06:48 something that's very simple, 06:49 but sometimes I find that it's those simple things 06:52 that we think we know so well, 06:54 that we need a reminding of or that we need to revisit 06:57 and so we're going to be talking about 06:59 how to know God according to the Bible, 07:01 but before we go any further, 07:02 I think we probably should go to the Lord in prayer. 07:04 Pastor, why don't you open us up in prayer, Brother? 07:06 Sure. 07:08 Loving Father in heaven, the privilege is always ours 07:10 and the blessing comes when we recognize 07:13 the need of Your Holy Spirit. 07:15 Come now and fill our hearts and minds. 07:16 We have an idea of our topic. 07:19 We do pray that You give us more than an idea. 07:21 Give us wisdom from above, 07:23 by the leading and guiding of Your Holy Spirit's presence. 07:26 In Jesus' name I pray, amen. 07:28 Amen. Praise the Lord. 07:31 I'm going to jump right into this. 07:33 John 17:3, 07:38 this is one of those texts that we all should know, 07:40 one of those foundational gospel texts that remind us 07:44 of the importance of eternal life. 07:46 And, of course, 07:47 Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane 07:49 and He's having a prayer because He's just moments away 07:52 from being arrested, taken to trial 07:55 and, of course, hours away from being hung across. 07:58 And so John 17:3, we all should know it, 08:01 but it says, "And this is eternal life, 08:05 that they may know You, the only true God, 08:09 and Jesus Christ whom You have sent," 08:14 that they may know You, the only true God. 08:17 Pastor, is it possible for us to know God? 08:20 Well, yes. To really know God? 08:22 Well, it is possible because He said, 08:25 and this is life eternal that you may know, 08:27 that you may know. 08:29 How I think the question is, how we get it... 08:31 Right, absolutely. 08:33 Because if we don't know Him, 08:35 how would we look forward to spending eternity 08:37 with somebody we don't know? 08:40 And I think this is a privilege now 08:41 we have to get to know Him here and now. 08:42 Absolutely. 08:44 And it's interesting because, you know, 08:45 I run into a lot of people that I witness to, 08:47 and they say, you know, can you really get to know 08:50 someone whom you've never seen? 08:52 Perhaps never heard audibly speak to you 08:54 like each and every. 08:55 I can say that I know my wife, Stephanie. 08:57 I'm with her each and every day. 08:59 I spend time with her, you know, 09:01 I get to embrace her and hug her 09:04 and speak to her each and every day. 09:06 There's a personal relationship here in which I can say, 09:08 I know her. 09:10 And so there's a lot of people that will challenge, 09:11 how can you come to know an individual 09:13 who you don't see, who you don't hear from, 09:15 who you can't feel, who's not tangible? 09:17 I guess you could say. 09:18 And so that being said, you know, is it important? 09:22 And this is a really simple question, 09:24 but I think it's important for us to address this. 09:25 Is it important that 09:27 we are in an abiding personal relationship with Christ? 09:30 I think the simple sufficient clear answer is absolutely yes. 09:35 In other words, is it really important for me 09:37 to know, God, and as that clear text 09:40 just said in John 17:33, Jesus said, 09:41 "This is eternal life." 09:43 And so what I want to do is go to Matthew 7:21-23. 09:48 So Matthew Chapter 7, let's go there in our Bibles. 09:51 This is one of those foundational texts. 09:53 This is actually a part of Christ 09:55 first recorded sermon in Scripture, 09:57 in which Jesus is giving the Sermon on the Mount. 10:00 So Matthew Chapter 7 and this is verses 21-23. 10:06 And, Stephanie, why don't you read that for us, 10:09 Matthew 7:21-23? 10:12 Sure. 10:14 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' 10:17 shall enter the kingdom of heaven, 10:19 but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 10:22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, 10:25 have we not prophesied in Your name, 10:27 cast out demons in Your name, 10:29 and done many wonders in Your name? 10:31 And then I will declare to them, 10:33 'I never knew you, depart from Me, 10:35 you who practice lawlessness!'" 10:37 What is Jesus saying here? 10:39 This is one of those texts I read many, many years ago. 10:42 And it's like, it opened my eyes 10:44 and there was a sense of, almost a sense of fear, 10:47 a sense of unsettling feeling that overcame me 10:51 because of the deep words that He shares here about 10:55 how it's possible that someone can think that 10:58 they know God, think that 11:00 they have a relationship with God. 11:01 So what does this text say to you guys? 11:04 Matthew 7:21-23 that we just read? 11:07 Well, let me use us as an example. 11:10 We've known each other for a long time. 11:13 And I could come home, 11:16 and I could see something a certain way. 11:20 And I know right away, 11:22 not just because we don't have any children, 11:24 but I know right away, Angie did that. 11:26 And vice versa, she can come home 11:28 and see something a certain way, 11:30 she say, I know, John did that. 11:31 Because we not only know each other, 11:35 you know, as husband and wife, but we know about each other. 11:39 And I think many people know about God. 11:44 But we go deeper than just knowing about 11:46 the things she does and how she cooks. 11:49 I think you commented on how good she is. 11:52 But I get to eat that all the time. 11:54 I know man. 11:56 And so, but the thing about is we know each other, 11:58 but we'd not only just know about the things we do, 12:00 but we know each other so I could say, 12:02 somebody said, well, who's cooking? 12:04 And I say my wife is. 12:05 I don't have to question 12:06 whether or not I'm going to eat it 12:08 because she knows what I like. 12:10 And I have nuance and knows... We have a relationship. 12:13 Thank you. That's right. 12:15 Absolutely. It goes back to relationship. 12:16 And the fascinating part about this particular text, 12:19 I think, that got me years ago 12:21 when I really comprehended it is that, 12:23 you know, look at this list here 12:26 that these people are responding 12:27 with, you know, "Lord, Lord, 12:29 have we not prophesied in your name? 12:31 Have we not cast out demons in your name? 12:33 Have we not done many wonderful works 12:35 or wonderful things in your name?" 12:38 And then he declares to them, I never knew you depart from Me 12:40 you who practice lawlessness or it would say iniquity 12:43 there in the King James Version. 12:45 So it's interesting to consider that, 12:47 you know, who's going to go, 12:49 you know, prophesying in the name of Jesus? 12:52 Who's going to go cast out demons in the name of Jesus? 12:55 Who's going to work many wonderful works 12:57 in the name of Jesus? 12:58 Is it going to be a professed believer or a non believer? 13:02 Well, I mean, 13:04 I don't want to take too much of the time 13:05 but what it's saying is that 13:07 it's possible to do godly things 13:10 without having a godly relationship 13:12 is possible to preach. 13:14 Can you see they cast out demons prophesied 13:17 to many wonderful friends? 13:19 That's why one of the dangers 13:20 in Christianity today is we often say, 13:22 Well, I want to be a part of a church 13:24 that has a great program in this particular area, 13:26 but has a lot of community connections, 13:28 or they start listing all the reasons 13:30 why they want to be a part of it. 13:31 So the Lord said, well, you know, he said to Peter, 13:33 "Follow me." 13:34 And I think the following part is where we are made, 13:37 you know, follow me and I will make you. 13:39 And so the key is, 13:41 the following Christ is where the making 13:43 and the relationship comes. 13:44 The cart comes after the horse, 13:48 if I could use that illustration. 13:49 So many of these things are the things 13:51 that people do without a relationship. 13:54 But the only reason why they will last 13:56 is when we do them in a relationship. 13:57 Amen. 13:59 And I would say, adding to what he said is that, 14:01 you know a lot of people, they know a lot about God, 14:04 but they don't really know God. 14:05 And it's possible to know a lot about someone 14:07 and not really know them. 14:08 I mean, think about it, you can know 14:10 what someone's favorite color is, 14:11 what kind of car they drive or their addresses, 14:13 you can know all these details about them 14:14 and not really yet know them. 14:16 And so I used to say this all the time, 14:18 and I preach it all the time everywhere I go, 14:19 you can know the rules and not know the ruler. 14:22 You can know the doctrines and not know the doctor. 14:25 You can know the Word of God 14:26 and not know the God of the Word. 14:28 Right. 14:29 And so, you know, we have to be careful that 14:30 when we study God's Word, 14:32 even that even as professed believers 14:34 that we get to know the God of the Word, 14:36 not just the Word of God 14:37 not just having a mere head knowledge of God 14:40 and what He has to say to us. 14:41 That is interesting because I, years ago, 14:43 I remember a friend shared a book with me 14:45 and I'll never forget the name of it. 14:47 It just stuck out to me. It was called Not a Fan. 14:49 Yeah, yeah. I remember that. Not a fan. 14:51 And he said, "You got to read this book 14:53 and he handed to me, Not a Fan." 14:54 I thought that's interesting you know, 14:56 this is a religious book. 14:57 Yeah, man, it has transformed 14:59 my understanding of following Christ. 15:00 And I thought, okay, so I began reading the book 15:02 and eventually it came out. 15:03 That was a Bible study set that came out on DVD 15:06 and we went through it. 15:07 It was transforming to consider that 15:09 many Christians approach living for Christ 15:13 or serving Christ as a fan rather than a follower. 15:16 There's a difference between 15:17 a fan of Jesus and a follower of Jesus. 15:19 In other words, and in these kind of 15:21 a sports analogy that is used here 15:23 in the sense that you know, 15:24 Jesus wants those people who are willing to go out 15:27 on the field with Him, 15:28 follow Him and serve with Him, rather than being a cheerleader 15:33 or a fan standing in the stands, 15:35 cheering Him on from the sides. 15:37 You know, a fan can know a lot about the players, right? 15:39 A fan can know a lot about even the game, 15:42 but do they really know the people 15:44 that are in the game? 15:45 Do they really know, you know, the experience of the game? 15:47 Right? 15:49 And so are you a fan or are you a follower, 15:51 and that's essentially what Jesus is bringing out 15:53 here in Matthew Chapter 7, He's saying, hey, look, 15:55 you know what you done, you could say you done 15:57 all these good things and you have, 15:59 but at the end of the day 16:00 I still lack that personal relationship with you. 16:02 I want to really know You and I want You 16:05 to really know me for who I am. 16:07 Another equivalent passage to this, a similar nature 16:10 but also different is Luke 13:24-30. 16:14 So Luke 13:24-30. 16:18 Anna, could you read that for us there? 16:19 Luke 13:24-30. 16:22 And, of course, Jesus is speaking here. 16:24 And, again, kind of on the same note 16:26 of what we were just talking about, 16:27 but Jesus adds a few extra details 16:30 and some information that helps us to understand 16:32 this importance of knowing God. 16:34 Go ahead, Anna. 16:35 He says, "Strive to enter in at the narrow gate, 16:38 for many, I say unto you, 16:40 will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 16:42 When once the Master of the house has risen up 16:44 and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside 16:47 and knock at the door, 16:48 saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' 16:50 and He will answer and say to you, 16:52 'I do not know you, where you are from,' 16:55 then you will begin to say, 16:57 'We ate and drank in Your presence, 16:59 and You taught in our streets.' 17:01 But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, 17:04 where you are from. 17:05 Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' 17:08 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, 17:10 when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob 17:13 and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, 17:15 and yourselves thrust out, 17:17 They will come from the east and the west, 17:19 from the north and the south, 17:21 and sit down in the kingdom of God. 17:23 And indeed there are last who will be first, 17:27 and there are first who will be last.'" 17:30 So again, you have this very religious group 17:33 and I just want to add here. 17:36 Notice these individuals 17:37 if you were to find these people in the street, 17:39 and say, "Are you a Christian?" 17:41 Of course, I'm a Christian. They will say yes. 17:42 Do you believe in Jesus? Of course, I believe in Jesus. 17:44 Are you saved? Of course, I'm saved. 17:48 These are people that were, I mean, sold on the fact, 17:51 completely convinced, I'm saved. 17:52 Why will we know we know Jesus, right? 17:54 They believe that they know who He is. 17:56 He was in our streets. He preached to us, right? 17:58 And we did all these good things. 18:00 We drank in His presence, we, you know, 18:02 He drank in our presence, He taught in our streets, 18:04 we really, really know Him. 18:05 But when they show up at the house, 18:07 knock, knock, knock, hey, let us in, it's us. 18:09 What does He say? I don't know you. 18:12 And He says the same thing. 18:13 He says in Matthew Chapter 7, you know, "Depart from Me you 18:16 who work iniquity." 18:18 So again, we can think that we know God, but yet still, 18:23 and this is interesting. 18:25 Completely, it's a completely contrasting concept. 18:29 You can think that you know, God, but at the same time 18:31 be living in a life of sin 18:33 that is separating you from God. 18:35 Another passage that comes to my mind 18:37 is Matthew 25:11-12. 18:40 Again, this is referring to the Parable of the Ten Virgins. 18:43 And again, the same thing is repeated to them. 18:46 Of course, this is the five foolish versions of the ten. 18:48 Afterwards the other virgins came also, saying, 18:50 'Lord, Lord, open to us! 18:52 But He answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, 18:54 I do not know you.'" 18:57 Okay, so it's interesting when I did a search here. 19:01 And maybe we can kind of discuss this a little bit here. 19:03 When I broke out my Bible software, 19:06 and I was going through my Bible software 19:07 and doing some in depth research on this, 19:10 and I clicked on the word Know, 19:12 because I wanted to know what kind of word is this? 19:14 What does it really teach us to really know God? 19:17 And it came up. 19:19 It's the Greek word ginosko, 19:22 which when you really study it deeply, 19:24 and how it's used in much of the context 19:26 that it is using knowing a person, 19:28 it means an intimate, deep, 19:31 personal, below the surface, not casual friendship. 19:35 We're talking about a very, very personal, personal, 19:38 personal relationship. 19:40 And so do we have any biblical examples of this? 19:44 The other, that anybody that comes to mind 19:46 that we believe or we see in Scripture 19:49 that really sticks out and says this person knows God, 19:51 this person didn't have 19:53 just a casual relationship with the Lord. 19:55 They really had a deep intimate relationship with the Lord. 19:57 Enoch. Enoch. 19:59 Right? Yeah. Moses. 20:01 Moses did. Moses, right. 20:03 Elijah. Elijah. That's right. 20:06 These individuals, you know, Moses, Elijah, Joseph, 20:11 who else did I mentioned? 20:13 Oh, so many. 20:14 There's so many in the Bible, but the point of the matter is, 20:16 they were called of God. 20:20 But their call wasn't just, 20:22 okay, I'm responding to the call. 20:24 They built that on a relationship. 20:26 It wasn't just, I know what God wants me to do, 20:28 but I know God. 20:30 And one of the questions I had out of the text 20:32 here in Matthew 16:13. 20:37 This is an interesting text 20:39 because that was a question in the days of Christ. 20:42 Honey, would you read that for us, Matthew 16:13? 20:45 Okay. 20:47 It says, "When Jesus came 20:49 into the region of Caesarea Philippi, 20:51 He asked His disciples, saying, 20:54 'Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?'" 20:58 Okay, that's huge. That's pretty much it. 21:00 Who do they say I am? 21:02 And when the response came, you are the Christ, He said, 21:06 flesh and blood did not reveal that to you. 21:08 In other words, you know this because you got a connection. 21:13 We have to, you have to have a connection to be connected. 21:17 And I think that makes a difference. 21:18 When the Holy Spirit is working in our lives, the Holy Spirit, 21:21 as the Bible says in John 16:13, 21:23 "He will not speak on his own authority, 21:25 whatever He hears, 21:26 he'll speak and he'll tell you things to come." 21:28 And there are many people that say they know Christ, 21:30 but they're glorifying the Holy Spirit, 21:33 or the Holy Spirit doesn't even glorify himself. 21:35 That's right. 21:36 So, you know, He doesn't even, 21:38 He will not glorify himself, He will glorify me. 21:41 So one of the external indications 21:43 in Christianity today is this constant, 21:47 well, I need the Holy Spirit, I want the Holy Spirit. 21:49 Well, if you want the Holy Spirit for the, for... 21:52 What's that? 21:53 What was that man in the Book of Acts, 21:55 he want the Holy Spirit for the wrong reasons? 21:57 Simon. Simon. 21:59 He was, he had the last name, okay, but anyway. 22:01 He wanted Holy Spirit for what he saw 22:03 the power of the Holy Spirit. 22:05 And I like the way that... I like the way that tells us. 22:08 Now, Jesus, we know. 22:13 Jesus we know again. 22:15 Paul we know. Right. 22:16 But who He is? That's right. 22:20 That's true. Right. 22:21 Absolutely. So right away he wanted... 22:24 He wanted the thing associated with God, 22:27 but he didn't want God. 22:29 I just want to say something to that. 22:30 You know, my friend Jordan Moore, 22:32 and me and him preached a revival together 22:34 back in December, and he made a message 22:37 and it was very beautiful title. 22:39 It was right around Christmas time, 22:40 it was titled Home Alone. 22:42 Oh. 22:43 And you know, the movie Home Alone, 22:44 it's a very famous movie. 22:46 And it's very interesting 22:47 because he used the illustration 22:48 about how he was out canvassing and knocking, 22:50 doing door knocking, you know, 22:51 and trying to share the gospel with people. 22:53 And he knocks on this door. 22:54 And this woman said, "Who are you?" 22:57 And he's like, "Oh, Jordan." She's like, "I don't know you." 23:01 And she locked the door and won't let him in. 23:04 And he said, as I was walking away, he said it hit me. 23:08 She didn't let me in because she didn't know me. 23:10 Wow. I get it. 23:12 And then and then he remembered the Scripture, 23:13 Jesus knocking on the door in Revelation. 23:17 Revelation 3:20. Revelation 3:20, right. 23:18 He says, I knock, 23:20 right as many as would open the door, 23:22 I will come in and dine with him 23:23 and supper with him and he with me, 23:24 but the only reason why 23:26 we don't let Jesus in our lives is because we don't know Him. 23:28 If we really knew Him, we would let Him in. 23:30 We would want Him to come in. That's right. 23:32 Amen. Absolutely. 23:34 You know it's powerful what you just said 23:35 but all these are powerful points 23:37 and my brain is just spinning 90 miles per hour right now. 23:40 But it's interesting going back to what you're referencing 23:42 that particular text, what is it? 23:44 What can it be said about, 23:46 when the devil knows that if you know God or not? 23:49 That's right. There you go. 23:51 What can it be said when the devils, 23:53 the demons know 23:54 when they know you specifically by name, 23:56 when they could say, oh, wait, 23:58 you know, Jesus I know, Peter I know. 24:01 You, I don't know. 24:02 You know, Paul, we know, we don't know you. 24:04 What does that say? 24:05 You know, I pray that that you know, as much as 24:07 I don't want the demons to be in my life and affect me, 24:10 at the same time 24:12 I want the demons to know who I am, 24:13 in the sense because they know that I know the master, right? 24:16 What does it say when the demons and the devils 24:19 in this dark world that we live in 24:21 know that you have a special relationship with God? 24:23 And what does it say when they know you don't? 24:25 You know that's true. 24:27 If you don't know the law, 24:29 they won't even think of you as a threat. 24:31 Yeah. Right. 24:33 If you're just a spectator at the football game, 24:35 I don't have to worry about you getting to the goal 24:38 because you're not even concerned about the goal line. 24:40 You're just watching this play off. 24:42 Okay, say it again. A fan as you said. 24:44 That's right, yeah. 24:45 I recall from what you just said a moment, 24:46 Dakota, Home Alone. 24:48 That's a powerful sermon title. 24:49 There are many people that are in at church home, 24:52 but alone. 24:53 Because they don't know the Lord. 24:54 Wow. 24:56 So thank you for the sermon title. 24:57 That's nice and interesting. Going back to that. 24:58 You know, when I was, again, 25:00 I was researching this topic 25:01 and I clicked on that word know. 25:02 And it came up the Greek word ginosko. 25:04 And not only did it give me an understanding 25:06 or a deeper meaning of that, but I also wanted to know, 25:09 as in many of these Bible softwares 25:11 that you can do today, 25:12 praise the Lord for modern technology. 25:14 I could click on that word, and it will tell me 25:16 every single aspect of scripture 25:18 where that particular word is used in the Greek. 25:22 And one of the first ones that popped up 25:23 was very fascinating to me. 25:26 Mark, excuse me, Matthew 1: 24-25. 25:32 And notice what it says here, it says, 25:34 "Then Joseph being aroused from sleep, 25:36 dead as the angel of the Lord commanded him 25:39 and took to him his wife, 25:41 and did not know her till she had brought 25:46 forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus." 25:50 Now, when we read that text, 25:53 we, of course, because we understand 25:55 the very nature of this particular text, 25:57 this particular text is talking about that up to this point, 26:01 they had not had an intimate husband and wife relationship 26:05 that had not occurred. 26:07 And so when it says that he did not know her, 26:09 that's what it is implying there. 26:11 And then my mind starts going at it 26:13 and I start thinking to myself, how does this, 26:15 why did Jesus choose that word when He said, 26:18 "And this is eternal life that you may know God 26:23 and Jesus Christ, whom thou have sent." 26:25 Because that's powerful, 26:26 I think that communicates a special nature here 26:28 not an improper sexual nature, 26:32 but I think it communicates the deepness, 26:35 the spiritual intimacy that God wants to have with us, 26:39 in the sense that He wants us to really know Him. 26:41 He wants us to be close to Him, 26:43 because He says that is eternal life. 26:45 I don't want you to just know about Me, 26:47 I want you to really, really come to know Me. 26:50 And so God ultimately, 26:52 He wants to reach the heart, right? 26:54 We know that. 26:55 He wants to reach the heart, and I made a note here. 26:57 God wants more than lip service. 26:59 That's right. 27:00 God wants more than lip service. 27:02 How can we make sure 27:04 that our hearts are genuinely engaged 27:06 in a deep relationship with Christ. 27:09 And I have a text here, a couple of texts here. 27:11 And if you guys want to chime in on this, please come in. 27:13 But when we were talking about really knowing the person. 27:16 If I walk out on the streets and I, 27:17 you know, say to somebody, 27:19 oh, you know, hey, I know John Lomacang, 27:22 but I really don't know John Lomacang. 27:24 I've never spent time with him, I've never talked to him. 27:26 He's just someone, maybe an acquaintance. 27:27 Someone that I've met on the street, 27:29 maybe met at one time, but I'm telling people, 27:31 oh, yeah, John Lomacang's my friend, 27:33 I really know him, but I really don't. 27:35 What does that say? 27:37 And I think a lot of people's relationship 27:38 with the Lord is just that. 27:40 Oh, yeah, we know Jesus. Oh, yeah, we're safe. 27:42 I invited Him into my heart. 27:43 But Jesus says it's much more of a heart issue. 27:45 I think the danger of that 27:47 is that we're telling other people, 27:49 we're witnessing to other people. 27:50 Yes. 27:52 And we're saying, I know Him 27:53 and He's like this when really we don't. 27:54 And that is the truth. Wow. 27:56 So what do we really say? 27:57 I might use, our voice all of us, 27:59 you know, your spouse's voice. 28:00 Honey I'm home. That's right. 28:02 The Father. What about Jesus and His sheep? 28:05 My sheep brought him. My sheep hear my voice. 28:08 Wow, that is powerful. 28:09 One of the commandments, I believe that's broken 28:11 probably more than any of them is, 28:13 is the third commandment, where Jesus says, 28:15 take not my name in vain, right? 28:17 And you know, 28:18 when we call ourselves a Christian, 28:20 we're taking on the name of Christ. 28:21 That's right, we become representatives. 28:22 And we're representing Him, right? 28:24 The reward of Christian is Christ. 28:25 And so if we're saying, I'm a Christian, you're saying, 28:28 I know God, Christ is my God. 28:30 But if your life does not, you know, 28:32 synonymous with the life of Christ, 28:35 then really you're taking His name in vain. 28:37 And, you know, 28:38 I think we have to be careful with that, 28:39 that we truly do know God. 28:41 And, you know, I've gotten to the point lately 28:43 when someone asked me, "Are you a Christian?" 28:45 I said, "I'm in a walk with Jesus. 28:47 I'm in a walk with Jesus. 28:49 I'm doing my best to be like Him. 28:51 I'm following Him every day." 28:52 You're striving to get to know Him 28:54 more and more each and every day. 28:55 Matthew 15:7-9. 28:57 Let's go there, because this particular text 28:59 really sticks out to me when you're talking about 29:01 a prime biblical example of lip service, 29:04 but no heart commitment, right? 29:06 Jesus wants that heart commitment. 29:08 He wants everything about you. He wants your whole being. 29:11 He really wants to know you and He wants you to know Him. 29:14 But we're talking about a prime example in the Bible 29:16 where Jesus is condemning someone who says 29:18 they know God when really they don't. 29:20 We're talking about Matthew 15:7-9. 29:23 Pastor, why don't you read that 29:24 and let's discuss this a little? 29:26 "Hypocrites! 29:27 Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 29:31 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, 29:34 and honor Me with their lips, 29:37 but their heart is far from Me and in vain they worship Me, 29:42 teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." 29:46 You know what is in essence saying 29:47 is I think of Isaiah 4:1. 29:51 "Many was, you know, in that day, 29:55 seven women will take hold of the one man." 29:57 Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. 29:59 "Saying we will eat our own bread, 30:01 wear our own apparel, 30:02 only let us be called by Your name." 30:05 I just wants Your name to take away our reproach. 30:08 And you know the name Christian is a name 30:09 that does take away reproach. 30:11 But what the Lord is in essence saying here, well, you, 30:14 but you just give me lip service. 30:16 I really don't know you. 30:17 So today we have to be very careful in this society 30:20 where these descriptions are so prevalent. 30:22 He says, don't just take what they say. 30:26 See who they are. 30:27 That's where the fruit of Spirit come from, 30:29 and the fruit of the Spirit. 30:30 Fruit don't appear inside the tree. 30:32 They appear on the outside. 30:34 That's right. 30:35 So how we live our lives should be evidence here, 30:37 that person knows. 30:40 We were in San Francisco years ago. 30:42 And it's kind of like I'm telling my own story here. 30:45 Talk about the time when they told me go upstairs 30:47 and get something come back on line. 30:48 Remember that story 30:50 and the ladies jumped in front of me? 30:51 Oh, yeah. Yeah, you told that before. 30:52 Okay. 30:54 And the ladies jumped in front of you 30:55 and they were so... 30:57 The lady behind the counter was so impressed. 31:00 She says, wow, you know, the lady you on line. 31:03 But they told me to go upstairs and get something in my bag. 31:05 You know the story better. You tell it. 31:08 It sounds funny telling your story. 31:10 Okay, I'll make the point. 31:12 You know, I was on line already, 31:13 but there's a particular document I needed. 31:15 They said, well, go upstairs and when you come down, 31:17 just come to the front of the line, right? 31:19 Don't wait, just come to. 31:20 So I came down there were three women in front of me. 31:23 And I just waited behind the third woman, 31:25 fourth in line. 31:27 And I was looking at my wife, 31:29 she was on the other side of the, 31:31 and there was a nurse looking. 31:33 And I came back and said, 31:34 "What she's saying because she looked at me, 31:35 she looked at you and you look back and you guys, 31:37 what were you saying?" 31:39 And she said, "Is your husband a Christian?" 31:43 And I said, "Why would she say that?" 31:45 She said, "Because you were so patient. 31:47 You just went to the back of the line, 31:49 you weren't flustered." 31:50 Most people be upset, they just walk through 31:52 the front of line regardless of who's there. 31:55 What is being said there is your behavior. 31:59 It speaks louder than what you say. 32:02 So that's important. That's what this was about. 32:05 That's powerful even more to consider that 32:07 these were the spiritual leaders of Israel 32:10 that Jesus is addressing here. 32:12 These were the what we consider this, 32:14 the seminary professors, 32:15 these are the ones who, you know, 32:16 they didn't just have multiple copies of the scrolls 32:19 and the text laying around, 32:20 these guys had to commit this stuff to memory. 32:22 And so this even goes further to prove our point in the sense 32:25 that you can have a lot of head knowledge, 32:27 you know, you can have it all tucked away in your mind, 32:29 you can know the rules, 32:31 you can have all the text memorized. 32:33 And these guys were the kind of the prime example 32:36 of who in that particular society 32:38 and that particular culture, 32:40 everyone looked up to the priest, 32:42 everyone looked up to the priesthood 32:43 and to the Pharisees who taught the Scripture, 32:45 but Jesus is condemning him. 32:47 He says, look, you talk big about Me, 32:49 you know, you have good things to say about Me, 32:50 but your heart is far from Me. 32:52 And so what does that say about us today? 32:54 I think, you know, my heart yearns to be 32:57 more closer to Christ so that I don't just know 32:59 a lot about Him, but I actually do know Him. 33:01 Absolutely. 33:03 James said, 33:04 "Do not love in word or in tongue, 33:06 but indeed and in truth." 33:08 Oh, that's good. 33:09 And I think that's synonymous 33:10 that the whole Bible Jesus said, 33:12 you'll know them by their fruits 33:13 in Matthew 7:20. 33:14 Yeah. It makes the fruit. 33:16 Yeah. 33:17 Inspector, see we're not judges, 33:18 we're fruit inspectors. 33:20 Right. That's right. 33:21 It's a difference all together. 33:23 We were down in Southern California 33:24 remember number of years ago? 33:25 We're trying to find somebody else 33:27 around Thanksgiving. 33:28 We couldn't find it. 33:29 So we went to this restaurant to try to ask for directions. 33:31 Do you remember that? Yeah, vaguely. 33:33 It was many years ago. Back in the 90s. 33:36 But you remember we were walking up to the restaurant. 33:37 There's a guy came out, what did he say to us? 33:40 He said, did he say, "Are you a Christian?" 33:42 He said, "Are you guys Christian?" 33:43 Yeah. He looked at us. Are you a Christian? 33:46 We're like, where did that come from? 33:47 Yeah, he said, I could tell. 33:50 Just walk into any directions and said I could tell. 33:53 That's right. 33:54 But you know, the Bible tells us that 33:56 we should walk as He walks. 33:58 We should you know, Jesus wants to share 33:59 His Spiritual mind with us. 34:01 The Bible says, let this mind be in you 34:03 which is also in Christ Jesus. 34:04 When we reach the point where when people look at us 34:06 and hear us and see us, 34:08 and we become a reflection of Him, 34:10 in which they, you know, 34:12 our words become like that of Jesus, 34:14 our actions become like that of Jesus, 34:15 our lifestyle and who we are. 34:17 It just beams Jesus' light. 34:20 You know, people as you just told that beautiful story, 34:22 people notice those things. 34:23 I was thinking, you know, in relation to how people 34:26 really know each other. 34:27 Last night funniest thing happened. 34:30 We were in our house and we were, 34:33 I know she was looking, Stephanie was looking up 34:35 something online. 34:36 And something came across her phone of some lady singing. 34:40 And she knew that I was like, just based off, 34:45 like seeing this particular image 34:48 and hearing this particular voice. 34:50 She knew exactly what how I was about to respond. 34:53 And I was literally... He was about to talk. 34:57 It was about to literally come out of my mouth 35:00 and I was about to start singing or talking 35:03 like I saw and heard this person to be. 35:06 And before I could even get it out of my mouth, 35:08 she goes, you're about to start singing like this, 35:10 the way this lady sings, right? 35:11 You're about to start, you know, 35:13 talking the way that you know, 35:14 because they had a particular accent 35:16 or particular sound. 35:17 And I just started rolling laughing 35:19 because it showed us 35:20 just how much we know each other. 35:22 God wants to know us like that. 35:23 And He wants us to know Him like that. 35:25 So that when we live our lives and we talk and we, you know, 35:29 we're out there engaged in everyday life among 35:32 our brothers and sisters in our communities that people 35:35 when they see us, they see you know what? 35:37 That sounded just like Jesus, that look just like Jesus 35:40 and that's the way I want to live my life. 35:41 So I just want to ask a practical question here. 35:43 I'm sorry, go ahead. 35:44 No, I was just going to say like, 35:45 you guys have used the illustrations 35:47 of your wives knowing so well, 35:48 and even you know that that close relationship, 35:50 you guys so it's funny. 35:51 I think every couple has that experience. 35:54 But what's amazing, you know is that Christ 35:56 is referred to as our husband in the church. 35:58 We are His bride. 36:01 And so He wants that close knit relationship, 36:03 just like it is between a husband or wife 36:05 in a spiritual way. 36:07 And it's a very close way. 36:08 And so I think that 36:09 just relates beautiful what it says. 36:11 No, that's awesome. Praise the Lord. 36:12 So what are some practical ways? 36:14 Let's talk about, you know, 36:15 my question that I put here in the notes here. 36:17 How can we make sure 36:18 our hearts are genuinely engaged 36:20 in a deep relationship with Christ? 36:22 We want to make sure that our lifestyle 36:24 and the way we represent Christ 36:26 is not just lip service, but we have a genuine, 36:29 deep connection with Christ. 36:30 How can we make sure, 36:32 what are some things that we can do, 36:34 not do that would help us to remain 36:38 and stay connected to Jesus on a daily basis? 36:41 So let's just talk amongst ourselves 36:42 about that for a moment. 36:43 Read the Word. Okay. 36:45 Amen. That is the way. 36:46 You read your love letter. Right. 36:48 I know I remember. 36:49 When I was at school, 36:50 I was at Oakwood College many years ago, 36:53 and I used to get these beautiful letters 36:55 from my boyfriend right next to me, 36:58 he's my husband but he's still my boyfriend. 37:00 I used to get these beautiful letters 37:02 with all these hyssop... 37:04 I used to play guitar and all the guitar picks 37:06 are different shapes circle, heart, triangle. 37:11 And I would take all the guitar picks 37:13 outline the shapes on the front of the letter 37:15 and cover them all in. 37:17 And then I would, what else did I do? 37:19 Spray cologne on the letter. 37:21 So when the letter came Angela, 37:23 they would just smell so good all the girls says... 37:27 You could smell my letter. 37:29 And in the dorm, they all said, what? 37:31 You got a letter? I'm seeing my letter. 37:33 I couldn't wait to get his letters. 37:35 Almost every day I got a letter from him. 37:37 He's in New York, I'm away. 37:39 And it was his love letter to me 37:41 and so is the Word of God. 37:42 It's God's love letter to us. You know, we just absorb it. 37:47 I can smell the cologne. I can smell it. 37:49 Taste and see, right? Well you know what? 37:50 Taste and see that the Lord is good. 37:52 That's what this generation is missing. 37:55 They sent emails, you know, 37:58 those of you that are internet savvy 38:00 and technical, use some of the things 38:03 that really matter, you could save an email, 38:06 you know, you can just drag it 38:07 and drop it into your special box, 38:09 but it can't beat the letter Oh, you know what? 38:11 You just... 38:12 It cannot beat the letter that was written 38:14 that the person took their hand to. 38:16 And what makes the difference is, 38:17 Elder C.D. Brooks and his wife visited with us 38:19 whenever they would come to Thompsonville 3ABN, 38:23 and he sent us to response like how much he... 38:27 He said, "Normally 38:30 I have my secretary write thanking people for, 38:33 you know their hospitality." 38:35 He said, "But I did this myself." 38:36 He said, "I put my hand to it." 38:38 The part of our joy in coming to 3 ABN 38:41 is we know we're going to spend time 38:42 with the Lomacang. 38:43 Right. That's awesome. 38:45 We had that relationship. Yes. 38:46 And it makes a difference. 38:47 So you know, young folk that like to just text, you know, 38:50 impress your girlfriend. 38:52 Get some writing paper, 38:54 get some envelopes, get a stamp. 38:57 Get a Hallmark card. Get a Hallmark card. 38:59 Put some time in it and the saddest thing 39:01 we got to tell the last part of the story. 39:03 We went away to Heritage Singers 39:05 and left so much of our stuff in Florida, 39:07 you know by her aunt's house where she lived in the room 39:10 but somebody else came and rented the room 39:12 and they put a lot of our stuff in the shed. 39:15 Well, Florida... Humidity. 39:17 And all of our letters soaked together and just... 39:20 When we came back home all she had a stack of letters 39:23 and rubber bands. 39:24 They all just... It was just one solid piece. 39:26 One solid piece of mag, messed up... 39:28 Rubber band, letters, everything. 39:31 I tell, meant for life. 39:33 But it's the love letter from God, read and talk to Him. 39:36 It's a prayer. 39:37 It's amazing you guys say that, 39:38 me and Anna still have all of our letters 39:40 in high school when we were dating. 39:41 We still kept up with all of them. 39:43 We still have them and put them in our safe. 39:45 And I was just thinking about those who didn't. 39:47 We have our letters that are safe. 39:49 So we don't ever lose them and they're protected 39:51 and think about the Word of God. 39:53 We should cherish it that much, 39:54 so we have to hid in our hearts. 39:56 Amen. That's right. 39:57 We always have it with us. 39:58 What did David say, "I hear Thy word in my heart 40:01 that I might not sin against thee." 40:03 Right. Absolutely. 40:04 I mean, but this fits the theme though, 40:06 you know, you just mentioned 40:07 it should have been a topical marriage. 40:08 I go back to that point. You know, Adam... 40:11 Joseph did not know her till he had brought forth 40:14 till she had brought forth her firstborn. 40:16 Also think of you know, Adam knew Eve, 40:18 you know, Abraham knew Sarah. 40:20 But Jesus likens His relationship 40:22 with us unto that. 40:23 That's why Jesus said, you know, 40:25 this is eternal life that they may know you 40:27 the only true God and Jesus Christ 40:28 who thou have sent. 40:30 And so I want to hit the pause button for a moment. 40:32 I normally don't do this, 40:33 but you just said something that just sparked me. 40:35 Okay. 40:36 We're going to hit the pause button 40:38 on most practical items on how we can make sure 40:40 that we know God. 40:42 We're going to hit the pause button on that 40:43 and come right back to that in just a few moments. 40:45 But, Pastor, I want you to allude on something here. 40:46 You just said a few minutes ago, 40:48 you said this generation. 40:51 This generation, you recently did a sermon, 40:54 and I'll never forget the title of it, Generation Z. 40:57 Amen. 40:58 And this text came to my mind, Judges 2:7-10. 41:04 Stephanie, why don't you read that? 41:05 Judges 2:7-10. 41:08 Now, there are some names in here. 41:09 I tell you what? 41:11 Let's just focus in on verse 10. 41:12 Let's just focus in on verse. 41:13 Basically this is talking about the time of Joshua. 41:15 Joshua has died, and basically 41:19 some generations pass. 41:21 And so, Stephanie, read verse 10, Joshua 2:10, 41:25 about the time after Joshua. 41:28 "When all that generation 41:29 had been gathered to their fathers, 41:31 another generation arose after them 41:34 who did not know the Lord nor the work 41:36 which he had done for Israel." 41:38 Okay, so notice it said, they did not know the Lord. 41:42 And I went and looked at that in the Septuagint, 41:44 which would be the Greek copy of the Old Testament. 41:46 And that same word ginosko is used right here 41:50 in the Septuagint in this particular verse. 41:52 You did a phenomenal sermon on this. 41:54 I just want you to take some moments 41:55 and freely kind of unpack that in connection with 41:58 what we're talking about knowing God, 42:00 but this is speaking of a generation 42:01 and you said earlier this generation, more living, 42:04 it seems like more and more people, 42:06 they don't know God, you know, 42:07 we're living in a generation that does not know God. 42:09 Talk about that? 42:10 But, and you know the thing about it, 42:12 they have a knowledge of God 42:13 that they have a head knowledge. 42:14 In Romans 1, Paul says, although they knew God, 42:17 they glorified Him not as God, 42:20 but became vain in their imagination 42:22 and their foolish hearts were darkened. 42:24 We live in a generation that's philosophical, 42:26 that's atheistic by profession, 42:28 but they don't even know what atheists mean. 42:30 They are, you know, they have locked 42:32 into theologies of the society, but they don't know God. 42:35 And that, this is the reason why this is so powerful is 42:38 because knowing God and now I'm going to go back 42:40 to something you said, Adam knew Eve, 42:44 you know, all the knew. 42:45 Abraham knew Sarah. Joseph did not knew. 42:48 Yeah. Until. 42:50 So you see, there's an intimate there's a change, 42:53 and I want to I want to make a point here 42:54 because here's where it's so significant. 42:56 I did a message called, a baby had Mary, 43:01 Mary had a baby, a baby that had Mary. 43:03 I like it. 43:05 He's so creative with his title. 43:06 Now watch what happens. 43:09 And this is where it's so amazing. 43:10 And I want to just say even include those of us 43:12 who are Seventh-day Adventists. 43:13 There are a lot of things we do differently 43:15 because the Bible tells us how to live, how to eat, 43:18 how to dress, you know, our entertainment, all that. 43:20 But everything that happened in Mary's life happened 43:23 because the baby was making the change. 43:25 What did He do? 43:27 First thing was, 43:28 there's a glow that came over her 43:31 after the baby's being developed 43:32 after three months. 43:33 You know, there's a glow, 43:35 there's a light that shines in us, 43:36 you cannot hide the fact that after three months 43:38 it's obvious is something taken place in you. 43:40 So when Christ is in you, you can't hide it. 43:42 A pregnant woman 43:44 doesn't have to say I'm pregnant. 43:48 It's obvious. Yeah. 43:49 What else happens? 43:51 She changes the way she eats 43:52 not because I like that Adventist diet, 43:55 but because the baby requires the change, 43:57 the baby and not, you know, 43:59 we don't have any children but we, 44:01 we know about her sister had children. 44:03 I remember being with her sister on a bus 44:04 once in Brooklyn, and they looked at us 44:06 like we were a couple. 44:08 I said, "No, no, no, no, 44:09 I'm just going with her to the store." 44:10 But we noticed her face was all of glow. 44:12 And then women that are pregnant, 44:14 their diets are weird. 44:16 They start eating strange stuff. 44:18 Pickles. But why? 44:19 Because the baby is making the change. 44:21 It changes the way they dress. 44:24 A six month old, a six month pregnant woman 44:26 can't dress like she's not pregnant. 44:29 Okay. There you go. 44:32 You don't change the way 44:34 you dress to show that you're Christian, 44:36 the baby makes the change. 44:38 That's why when you try to change the way people dress 44:40 without knowing Christ, 44:41 they'll do it just to please you, 44:43 but they'll put it on later on because they're not pregnant. 44:45 That's right. Oh, wow. 44:47 If Christ is in you, 44:48 it's going to change the way you dress. 44:50 What else is He going to do? 44:51 He is going to change the way you walk. 44:52 Women that are pregnant, the longer they're pregnant, 44:54 they start walking really careful. 44:56 They avoid slippery places. 44:58 They hold on to their husband's hand 45:00 so they don't fall. 45:01 And one of the reasons why we don't hold on 45:02 to our husbands hands because we're not pregnant, 45:04 and we don't have a husband. 45:07 And lastly, they are always ready 45:09 because nobody knows the day 45:10 nor the hour of the deliverance. 45:12 Oh! I love that, Brother. 45:14 You're giving me heartburn over here. 45:16 Oh, man. That's awesome. I love it. 45:19 So we have to have your bags packed, so I'd be... 45:21 It behooves us as Christians to say, I got to get ready. 45:25 A pregnant woman. 45:26 They get that bag packed, like in the fifth month 45:27 because they don't know. 45:29 They don't know 45:31 when the Son of the Mary is coming. 45:32 It'd be premature or late. 45:33 And you know, when the fullness of time come, 45:37 God will send forth His Son into our lives. 45:40 So this generation, the reason why we don't see 45:42 the evidences of what a Christian is, 45:45 is because they choose not to allow Him in 45:47 and you made the point. 45:48 I'm knocking if you let me in, there'll be some changes. 45:50 Right. 45:51 All these young folks have to do 45:53 is have a relationship with somebody who is alive. 45:57 Yeah, there you go. Amen. 46:00 That's a trifle. Powerful, man. 46:02 And remember that story, you tell it about the boring, 46:05 the boring? 46:06 Oh, yeah, that's right. 46:08 This young lady and young man went out to dinner together 46:10 actually a lunch. 46:12 And the guy getting annoyed, says, Well, what do you do? 46:15 She's like to read books. 46:16 And she said, Well, 46:17 I'm reading this book right now. 46:19 It's just so boring. What's the title of the book? 46:21 And she told him, he said, "I wrote that book." 46:25 And she was shocked because she told him it was boring. 46:28 Two months later, it had another day 46:29 and she said, I love this book. 46:33 What made the difference? She knew. 46:36 That's awesome. 46:38 So you got to know the author in order 46:39 for the book to make sense. 46:41 Young folk don't read the Bible 46:42 because they don't know the author. 46:44 Praise the Lord. 46:46 Feel like I'm drinking from a fire hydrant over here. 46:48 Just keep on talking. Praise the Lord. 46:50 Dakota, there's a text on the same point 46:52 what we're talking about how to know God, 46:54 we should not have just a mere head knowledge 46:57 and that's what we've been talking about here. 46:58 We should not just have a mere head knowledge 47:00 but we need to actually know the rule maker, right? 47:04 And that's not, we don't want to, 47:05 I hate to even say that 47:06 I wanted to kind of change my words there. 47:08 He's not the rule maker, you know, 47:10 but we have to know the Creator, 47:12 not just the things He created, right? 47:14 We can't do, we can't just know all about the Sabbath, 47:18 but not know the Lord of the Sabbath. 47:19 And so we need to actually know God. 47:21 And I love this little saying years ago, 47:23 there was a series that kind of transformed 47:26 all of us by Pastor Lee Vinden. 47:30 It was called all about Jesus revival seminars. 47:32 I think he's been here at 3ABN to speak before, 47:34 and he has this little slogan, and it's so true and I love it. 47:37 He and his little motto, I guess you could say is, 47:39 it's not about what you do, it's who you know, 47:42 and who you know, changes what you do. 47:43 Wow. That's right. 47:45 It's not about what you sow, how so many people make living 47:48 for God about what you do, 47:50 that it becomes such a legalistic approach 47:52 to serving God that 47:53 they have all this head knowledge 47:55 and if you won't know what the Bible says 47:56 and what it says down to the T 47:58 and you want to know all this, you know logistical, 48:00 you know stuff about the Bible they, 48:02 they're the people to go to, 48:03 but to tell you who the Creator is 48:06 to really tell you who He really is 48:07 because they really know 48:09 they're not the people to go to. 48:10 So it's not about what you do. 48:11 It's who you know, 48:13 and who you know changes what you do. 48:14 I found this incredible quote from Desire of Ages. 48:18 Dakota, I want you to read it. 48:19 I think it's like the third page 48:21 there are a Desire of Ages. 48:22 Look over on the third page, flip that one over there, 48:25 right there. 48:26 Oh, there it is, right there. Yes. 48:28 So read I know it's a lengthy couple 48:30 of paragraphs here. 48:31 Do you want me to read both paragraphs? 48:33 I want you to read both paragraphs. 48:34 This is powerful, it comes from Desire of Ages, page 309. 48:37 Read that there. All right. 48:39 It says," The greatest deception 48:40 of the human mind in Christ day was that a mere ascent 48:44 to the truth constitutes righteousness, 48:47 and all human experience 48:48 a theoretical knowledge of the truth 48:50 has been proved to be insufficient 48:52 for the saving of the soul. 48:54 It does not bring forth the fruits of righteousness, 48:56 a jealous regard 48:58 for what is termed theological truth. 49:00 Often accompanies a hatred of genuine truth 49:02 as made manifest in life. 49:05 The darkest chapters of history are burdened 49:07 with a record of crimes 49:08 committed by bigoted religionists. 49:11 The Pharisees claimed to be children of Abraham, 49:14 and boasted of their possession of the oracles of God. 49:18 Yet these advantages did not preserve them 49:20 from selfishness, malignity, greed, for gain, 49:24 and the racist hypocrisy. 49:26 They thought themselves 49:27 the greatest religionist of the world. 49:29 But their so called orthodoxy 49:31 led them to crucify the Lord of Glory." 49:34 Wow, that is powerful. 49:36 Now she continues on, last paragraph, get this. 49:38 "The same dangerous still exists. 49:41 Amen. 49:42 Many take it for granted that they are Christians simply 49:46 because they subscribe to certain theological tenants, 49:49 but they have not brought the truth into practical life. 49:53 They have not believed and loved it. 49:55 Therefore they have not received the power and grace 49:58 that come through sanctification of the truth. 50:01 Men may profess faith in the truth. 50:05 But if it does not take them sincere, kind, patient, 50:08 forbearing, heavenly minded, 50:10 it is a curse to its possessors. 50:12 And through their influence, it is a curse to the world." 50:15 Oh, my. It's amazing. 50:18 So you can profess to know the truth. 50:21 But do you really know the Lord of the truth, right? 50:23 You know, I just want to say something, man. 50:25 That really inspired me and reminded me of a passage 50:28 in the Scripture. 50:30 You know, there's two men in the Bible 50:32 that seek Jesus back to back, 50:34 but they seek Jesus for different reasons. 50:37 And I think in the Bible, and even in today's society, 50:41 there's only two types of people in the world, right? 50:44 And we want to make sure that 50:45 we seek Jesus for the right reasons. 50:47 That's the rich young ruler, right? 50:49 We're talking about people 50:51 who want to do right, but they're not doing right. 50:54 They think they're doing right but they're not. 50:56 And I think the rich young ruler 50:57 in Luke 18 is a perfect example of this. 50:59 Notice why he come to seek Jesus. 51:01 That's what the scripture says here. 51:03 It says in Luke 18:18, 51:05 "And a certain ruler asked him saying, 51:07 'Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?'" 51:12 So his purpose for seeking Jesus 51:13 was that he wanted life eternal. 51:15 Right. Right? 51:16 He wanted eternal life. 51:18 "Jesus says unto Him, Why callest thou me good? 51:20 There's none good save one that is God." 51:22 And then the rest of the story, 51:23 I won't read for the sake of time 51:24 because I know we're getting close to closing 51:26 but we know the story. 51:27 The man walks away sorrowful. 51:29 He thought he was doing right but he wasn't. 51:31 Jesus left out one of those commandments 51:33 and that was the tenth one, right? 51:34 Thou shall not covet, right? 51:36 And it's very interesting because when you look at this, 51:39 when you look at the next story, 51:41 this man was a rich man, right? 51:42 You go and you see another rich man 51:44 named Zacchaeus in the next chapter, 51:46 because the chapter ends here, 51:47 they said, who then can be saved 51:49 because he said, it's hard for a rich man 51:50 to enter the kingdom of heaven. 51:51 Like who can be saved. 51:53 Zacchaeus comes along 51:54 and notice why Zacchaeus sought Jesus. 51:57 The rich young ruler sought Jesus 51:58 so that he might have eternal life. 52:01 You know, and we shouldn't seek Jesus 52:02 for that reason of just mere eternal life, 52:04 just mere selfishness. 52:05 Because that's self preservation, right? 52:07 Right. I mean, it's not about us. 52:09 Those who seek to save their lives will lose it. 52:11 There you go. Amen. Absolutely. 52:13 And so notice, Zacchaeus, he was a rich man. 52:16 It says, and behold, this is Luke 19:2 "Behold, 52:19 there was a man named Zacchaeus, 52:20 which was the chief 52:21 among the publicans and he was rich." 52:24 And then notice verse 3. 52:25 "And he sought to see Jesus, who he was." 52:31 He wanted to see Jesus for who He was. 52:33 And the end of the story to jump to the end of the story 52:36 is that there are all these people 52:38 were in the way, right? 52:40 Sometimes we allow people to keep us from seeing Jesus. 52:42 All these people were in the way, 52:44 and he didn't let that stop him, 52:46 he climbed up into a tree. 52:49 In other words, the only way we can see Jesus... 52:51 Is climb a tree. Is to get up the tree. 52:53 I loved that. 52:55 Get on the tree, Matthew says, take up your cross. 52:58 Take up your cross. I love that. 53:00 We got to get on the tree, right? 53:02 And then we'll see Jesus. 53:03 And it's only when we see Jesus 53:05 that we will have that divine appointment with Him. 53:08 And Jesus will come into our lives. 53:10 And then notice the difference, 53:11 a dichotomy between this rich man 53:13 and Luke 18. 53:14 And the rich man of Luke 19 is that salvation came to him 53:17 and his family at the end of the story, 53:20 and it's because he sought to see Jesus for who He was. 53:23 I just think that's power. That's power, that is powerful. 53:24 What about the seeking part on you said? 53:26 When you seek me you'll find 53:28 when you search for Him with all your heart. 53:30 Amen. That's what popped up. 53:31 And that brings us to, 53:32 we have about four minutes left here. 53:34 We were going to talk about 53:36 some practical ways and Miss Angie, 53:37 you open the door up for that to me one of the most 53:39 clear practical ways that we can make sure that 53:42 we come to know God for who He is. 53:44 How about spending time in His Word, right? 53:46 We made the point of spending time 53:47 in the Word of God and you know what? 53:49 In the Word of God we are told to 53:50 adhere to the words of the Lord, 53:52 follow the words of the Lord. 53:54 And you know in that particular passage in Matthew 7 53:56 that we opened with, you know, "Depart from Me you 53:58 who practice lawlessness or inequity, 54:01 I do not know you." 54:02 You see, in 1 John 2:3-6 54:06 coming in talking about knowing God, 54:07 I have to read this, because this is a clear one. 54:10 It says here in 1 John 2:3-6. 54:13 Now by this we know that 54:14 we know Him if we keep His commandments. 54:17 He who says, I know Him 54:19 and does not keep His commandments 54:20 is a liar and the truth is not in Him. 54:22 So we have to have the Word of the Lord in us 54:24 and when we have the Word of the Lord in us, 54:25 we will want to follow God more and more, 54:28 we want to obey Him because we are seeking Him 54:31 diligently, right? 54:32 Absolutely, so getting in the Word of the Lord. 54:35 Let's just open up this. 54:36 What's another practical way 54:38 that we might can come to know the Lord 54:39 more and more each and every day? 54:41 Pray. Right, pray. 54:42 Talk to Him. Talk to Him. 54:44 That just makes sense, right? 54:45 I mean, we've been giving marriage 54:47 and relationship examples this whole time. 54:49 I can't imagine walking in my home each and every day 54:52 and never talking to my wife. 54:53 Once a month maybe saying I love you honey 54:55 and then like never talking to her, right? 54:56 Like that just doesn't even work sense to me, 54:58 it absolutely doesn't make sense. 55:00 That's a body slamming. That's true. 55:05 She says, hey, 55:06 dynamite comes in small package, 55:08 it's what I'm saying. 55:09 There you go. There you go. Absolutely. 55:11 And then another one I just want to share here 55:12 in the last couple of minutes we have is sharing 55:15 and witnessing your faith for others daily. 55:17 If you notice here, we've mentioned three aspects. 55:19 And I actually learned this also from Lee Vinden, 55:21 very simple but very profound. 55:23 He calls out the three legs of the stool, 55:25 and you take one of those legs off, 55:27 can that still stand properly? 55:28 Absolutely not. 55:29 And so these are the three major 55:31 aspects of making sure that 55:32 you're maintaining a close relationship 55:34 with Jesus each day, 55:35 Bible study, not just, you know, 55:37 reading the Word of God, 55:39 but digging deep, getting in there 55:40 to really know the God of the Word. 55:42 And then, of course, prayer. 55:44 Opening up that prayer line of conversation. 55:47 You know, each and every day. 55:48 There was an old song that came out years ago, 55:50 long time ago, 55:52 Jesus own mainland, 55:57 tell him what you want. 56:01 It's got to go to spiritual, Jesus own. 56:05 Jesus does own the mainland, friends. 56:07 Tell Him what you want. 56:08 Tell Him, He wants to talk to you. 56:10 And that just that song came to my mind. 56:11 I had to share that. 56:13 But opening that line of prayer, 56:14 I made a note here cease not to pray every day. 56:17 We need to be praying to God each and every day. 56:19 And of course, the last one, 56:20 sharing, you're witnessing your faith to others. 56:22 How important is that? 56:23 What would happen to this generation 56:25 if they communicated with God through His Word 56:28 as much as they text? 56:30 What would happen? Amen. 56:32 It's powerful. And that is true. 56:33 I like what Ivor Myers had to say, you know, 56:35 he said, we need to face book. 56:38 We need to get our face in the book. 56:42 We need to get our face in the book 56:43 Get off the Facebook because one day 56:44 we'll have to face the book. 56:46 And yeah, there you go. Amen. 56:47 In the closing moments here, 56:49 I just want to read Paul's beautiful prayer 56:50 in Ephesians 3:14-19. 56:53 But I'm going to pick it up in verse 17. 56:54 Here he's praying and he says that 56:55 "Christ may dwell in your hearts 56:57 through faith that you being rooted 56:59 and grounded in love," I love this, 57:02 "may be able to comprehend with all the saints 57:04 what is the width and length and depth and height," 57:07 and then notice this next one, "to know the love of Christ 57:11 which passes knowledge 57:12 that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." 57:16 My friends, that is what He wants for you. 57:18 That's what He wants for all of us here. 57:20 We have had a good old time in the Lord. 57:22 We studied the Word. 57:23 We just thank you so much for joining us today. 57:25 God bless all of you for taking the time. 57:27 And you know what? 57:29 Join us next time here. 57:30 We're going to continue on having 57:32 more and more Family Worships, 57:33 and we encourage you to do so as well. 57:34 God bless. |
Revised 2020-04-16